Just came back from a presentation at the San Francisco Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, where I am teaching a class this fall. This center is part of a network of more than 80 centers supported by the Osher Foundation.
It is the third time I lead this class, and am looking forward to another fun experience. Working with a number of scientific advisors, we have prepared some great information based on recent brain research, and fun activities that exercise our key “mental muscles”.
Let me give you a flavor:
According to simplified brain anatomy, we can think of the following major “mental muscles” and ways to exercise them:
1) Cerebellum and brain stem area
- Motor coordination: dancing in couples is one of the best activities, as well as sports. You can also try to sign with your non-dominant hand
2) Limbic system area
- Emotions: see how good you are at identifying the feelings associated with facial expressions Activities like yoga and meditation, and biofeedback-based games, can be very powerful to help us improve our emotional intelligence
- Memory: maybe the easiest tricks are to categorize things (so instead of trying to remember we need to do 8 things we structure them in 3-4 groups) and to visualize fun connections (for instance, if you want to remember that you are meeting a friend in the corner of Powell and Market streets, you could visualize Colin Powell buying a tomato at an organic market). You can also read about a very powerful memory technique that requires training and has been used since classic Greece
3) Neocortex area
- Language: crosswords, casual games like BookWorm BookWorm. Maybe write a haiku about the chocolate experiment below
- Visual/ spatial: many casual games, like Tetris
- Senses: well, just get a good piece of chocolate, get into a silent room, close your eyes, and let it melt in your mouth. At least to me, this made me realize how little attention I pay to my senses
- Executive function (planning, problem-solving,…): solve any complex real-world problem. Maybe help a local nonprofit fundraise, or plan the next holiday vacation if it is not too stressful…or help your kid do his/ her math homework
You can find more Brain Fitness information, and programs, at SharpBrains.
saravanan said
i want to know more about Brain Trainning and Brain Exercise
Alvaro said
Hi Sara,
I will contact you offline to ask what questions you have. Feel free to always ask us any question.
SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution » Blog Archive » Brain Coach Answers: How Can I Be More Creative? Is Creativity a Part of Brain Fitness? said
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